Nigeria reacts as 60,000 backlog passports cleared in four working days

The Minister of Interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo on Wednesday said that a backlog of almost 60,000 passports has been cleared in four working days.

According to him “As of this morning, I can tell you that about 60,000 passport backlogs have been cleared, specifically 59,906. On September 6, 2023, when I gave the 2-week ultimatum, we had over 200,000 backlogs. We have recorded progress, and I maintain my word that those backlogs must be cleared.”

Nigerians on social media however express their feelings on the achievement of the minister.

Some Nigerians registered their displeasure about the way the officers of NIS had been handling the issues of passports before the minister put them on their toes while others commend the minister for keeping to his words. 

@benorac7 complained, “We know the right thing to do, we just need people who are ready to do the work to be in those key positions and everything will work out fine in Nigeria. I salute the effort of the Minister of Interior.”

@violetqueenmother said: “So they can work like this when the ordinary renewal of my passport took 6 months. They know how to work; they just decide to make life difficult for us.”

@Famo_cares asserted: “With this achievement, I hope Nigerians understand that it is we Nigerians that is Nigeria’s problem. All the staff at the NIS, comprising all tribes and religions. I am sure the President, the governors we hate so much, have their relations in the civil service, and if they do, they are all Nigerians. Yet the same civil servants are the same people sabotaging and extorting Nigerians from getting their passports, and we blame the government. Who is the government? Are the people working there aliens? Until Nigerians change their attitudes and become patriotic, we will never move forward. In the same vein, leadership also matters a lot. Now it is obvious that former minister Rauf Aregbesola was an abysmal failure in the office; what he couldn’t achieve for eight (8) years, another minister has done in less than two weeks of taking the same office.

“I urge the minister to keep an eye on the staff at the NIS; those who are not ready to work should be kicked out, and passionate Nigerians should be engaged. God bless Nigeria.”

@Mona_lisa_perry recalled when the minister gave the pledge to clear the backlog last week: “Indeed! Not business as usual. Just last week, the minister made the pledge about clearing the backlogs; now, 60,000 applications have been cleared by NIS. It is good that he is keeping them on their toes. Nigerians, there is hope for a great Nigeria.”

@Ekitiketan noted: “This is a great development. The kind of leadership we need right now.”

@ennyzee reflected: “We can actually make things work here most especially when there is political will and determination.”

@olatunde_charles pointed out: “It means those immigration people had just been very lazy or intentionally delayed the processing to cause scarcity.”

@_faiad questioned: “How are they able to clear 60,000 booklets in four days? But they always told us there’s no booklets, only to be issuing passports to the highest bidders. See how we punish ourselves and blame the government?”

@nichecarver12 noted: “What has been dragging Nigeria behind have been sabotage actions. Now that a minister knows his job, anybody that is going to be a saboteur, he has told them to either sit up or move out. It is as simple as that. Most of these bottlenecks are caused by people in the NIS offices intentionally delaying the procedure so that they can have the avenue to make huge amounts of extra cost from Nigerians.”

@Celebmgbah wrote: “Imagine what is daily ringing in the imagination of staff ears, ‘either you work or give us space’ No more public holidays for passport officers.”

@Iam_maguire concluded: “With this guy in charge, I won’t have to wait for 6 months to renew my passport.”